Faded Memories
by Dana1
Summary: Chapter 10 is up Chris Benoit is happy and retired. Or so he thinks.
1. Turned Upside Down

Title: Faded Memories  
  
Author: Dana  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Warnings: Violence, curse words  
  
Summary: Chris Benoit is happy and retired. Or so he thinks.  
  
Author's note: I think I've been talking to you too much Jules. Sounds more like your cup of tea.  
  
Disclaimer: Vince McMahon owns WWE. Wrestlers and such are owned by themselves or by the companies that created them. I claim anyone else. Oh and Ashley Glen does exist. I did a search.  
  
Chris Benoit looked out his window, at Ashley Glen in Peachtree City Georgia, watching his wife Nancy walk up the driveway. She had Perry Saturn with her. He smiled. He was glad to see them.   
  
He felt good for a sixty-five year old. With the Alzheimer's he had trouble remembering things. And he quite liked living at Ashley Glen even though he wished Nancy came more often.  
  
Nancy came into the room and greeted him with a hug and a kiss. "I've missed you! How are you doing Chris?"   
  
"Better now that you're here. Hey Perry."  
  
"Hey Chris. You are looking good. Medicine working?"  
  
"Yeah. I haven't had any problem remembering recent stuff. I just have trouble remembering the last twenty five years or so."  
  
"Well the doctor said you just need to take it one step at a time. Oh!" Nancy said. "This is from Paula." She said handing him a picture.   
  
Chris looked at the picture. "This is nice. When is Paula going to see me? I want to see my grandchildren."  
  
"Oh Daniel and Terry think it's better not to bring the grandkids to this place. They are a bit too young to understand."  
  
"Are they going to come and visit me?" Chris asked. The only visitors he remembered ever coming to see him were Perry and Nancy.  
  
"They live in Vancouver Washington Chris. It's hard for them to come all the way to Georgia. They had mailed the picture."  
  
"You liking it here?" Perry asked quickly.   
  
"Yeah. Though I don't feel sixty-five."  
  
"Hey you are only as old as you feel right Nancy?"   
  
"Yes that's what they say."  
  
They talked for awhile before the nurse came in to administer the pills. Chris found Nancy's shawl and went out to give it to her when he froze. He could hear them talking.  
  
"He's asking so many questions Perry." His wife said. "What if someone there slips up? What if he finds out about this?"   
  
"Don't worry Nancy." Perry put his arms around her. "You know why he's here. We have to keep him here."  
  
Nancy was cheating on him with one of his close friends! Chris realized. He started to walk up to them but what Nancy said next shocked him.  
  
"Come on. I need to get home. It's Daniel's sixth birthday. Imagine twenty screaming children! Chris may be the lucky one after all." 


	2. Time to Fess Up

"What's going on?" Chris demanded. Perry and Nancy stopped. They turned around and looked at him. Shock quite well seen on their faces.  
  
"Chris I thought you were getting your medicine..." Nancy started to say.  
  
"You forgot this." He held up the shawl. "What the hell is going on Nancy? Daniel's 31 not 6."  
  
"Maybe we should go inside." Perry suggested. He kept scanning the area.   
  
"Okay but I want to know what's going on." Chris said following them in. They went back to his room.  
  
"Chris how much do you remember of before you got here?" Nancy asked gently.  
  
"Last thing I remember of before here is telling Ric that I didn't want to be a Horsemen anymore. And he said he'd get me out of there."   
  
"He did honey. He got you out and called us. We had this arranged and..." Nancy had a lot of difficulty finishing that sentence.  
  
"No one else knows you're here Chris." Perry finished for her.  
  
"Why not?  
  
"It's not the same show anymore. Eric has completely taken over it. Vince and Linda are helpless to stop it. Shane's well Shane's still not able to leave bed let alone take back the show. And Stephanie..." Nancy looked to Perry for support.  
  
"Stephanie's pregnant."  
  
"Damn. How's Shane doing?"  
  
"You mean besides the fact that both his legs had been shattered? Last, I heard he and Marissa are doing as well as can be expected. Shane's legs hurt too much for him to get up and into a wheelchair and Marissa takes care of him." Perry said. The pain in Chris' eyes nearly broke his heart in two.  
  
"I tried to stop Hunter. I really did. He told me to shut up and get the hell out of the way. And when I didn't he shoved me out of the way. I could only watch helplessly as Hunter hit Shane repeatedly with the sledgehammer. I remember hearing Vince pounding on the door screaming for Hunter to stop it." Chris closed his eyes. "And yet I knew I couldn't open the door because Nash and Test were standing in front of it. I knew I wanted out then and there."  
  
Chris stopped and looked out the window. "I remember being asked to join the Horsemen again. I never thought anything of it. I just thought it would be the same thing it had always been. If I only knew, the plan HHH and Eric had. Ric and I were just the pawns. And then they got Dean into it and..."  
  
"I know sweetie. He's still in it. Ric said he couldn't' chance trying to get another out." Nancy said."  
  
"Nancy just what have you been telling people?"  
  
"That I had no idea where you were. Daniel doesn't know either. He keeps asking where you are. He even said he wanted you for his birthday." Nancy burst into tears.   
  
"When can I get out of here to make that present come true?" Chris asked.  
  
"It's not that simple Chris!" Perry said. "Hunter can't find out where you are! He'll drag you back there. Chris RAW's a bad place to be now."  
  
***  
  
End notes: Don't worry if you're confused. Things will be cleared up in later chapters. 


	3. Started Innocent Enough

Notes: This is the start of the flashback.  
  
Chris knew he had to get out of there. Perry and Nancy said he couldn't but he had to help the others. They may have not said how bad it was but he knew it had to be bad.   
  
It was bad when he got out and from the way Perry and Nancy talked it was worse. He managed to get a copy of the New York Times from another resident. As much as he hated Muchnik he knew he could find what he wanted from his column.   
  
Wrestler Still Missing   
  
by Phil Muchnik  
  
The search for Chris Benoit continues while the Horsemen still reek havoc on RAW. It's something I've been looking forward to report. The end of the WWE. Who can save that company? Linda and Vince have no control over it after a decision that they made a couple years before. Shane isn't in any condition to help and Stephanie's not going against her husband. And rumor has it she's pregnant.  
  
Chris put the paper down. Nothing new that he knew of. If only they'd let him watch TV. RAW is tomorrow. He'd settle for a phone. He never realized how strange this situation was. He was never allowed to make a phone call or watch TV. Why had he never questioned that? He wondered. But who could he call anyway? Calling Dean was out of the question. Ric didn't want to know where he was. Arn was also in the group. Sadly the only person he trusted in that group was Ric.  
  
Now that he knew this place was all a lie he knew he had to get out.  
  
***  
  
He spent his time in his room going over what had all happened. It had started out so simple and harmless.   
  
"Chris Benoit can I talk to you for a second?" Stephanie McMahon Helmsley asked right before Smackdown was supposed to start. Stephanie and Hunter Hearst Helmsley had gotten remarried a few weeks ago. This was her first night back as Smackdown GM.  
  
Chris looked up from where he was talking to Eddy and Rhyno. He went over there.  
  
"Chris you are being traded to RAW. So you won't be wrestling tonight. You need to be at RAW in Chicago Monday."  
  
Chris nodded. He was glad to be going to RAW. He didn't care much for Smackdown.  
  
If he knew what he did now then he could have made things different 


	4. Birthday Surprise

Notes: Sorry it took so long to post. Believe it or not, this part has been ready to post for awhile. Curse words in this chapter. Some people may or may not deserve the words though *EG* sorry about earlier version. It was missing some stuff. Thought it was just the whole Flair arriving thing but it's missing the innocence.  
  
Birthday Surprise  
  
Chris looked at everything in his closet. None of it was right for leaving. He'd have to go in what he was wearing. Too bad Nancy hadn't left a pair of jeans and a T-shirt here. He wasn't taking any of the clothes with him that was for sure.  
  
He went out the door. He wasn't surprised when Nurse Kelly stopped him.   
  
"Chris where are you going?" She asked looking at him suspiciously.  
  
"Home. Look I know I'm thirty-eight years old not sixty-five. Nancy told me."  
  
"She should have told us! No you need to stay here from what I've heard." Kelly kept looking around. Chris wondered if she knew all that was going on.  
  
"If you don't let me leave I'll have to call the cops. This has to be some kind of crime keeping me here."  
  
Her eyes got large. "Just a second!" She hurried over to a phone. A few minutes later she came back. "You may go. Oh and good luck Chris."  
  
***  
  
Chris paid the taxi driver as he got out. He looked at his house. It looked the same as it had when he last saw it. A banner said Happy Birthday Daniel! But the party was most likely inside since it was the end of February.   
  
He knocked on the door. Well he had tried to unlock the door with his key but the lock had been changed.   
  
"Chris? You can't be here! How'd you get here?" She asked stepping outside.  
  
"I persuaded the nursing home to let me out. And I want to give Daniel the birthday present he wants."  
  
"Chris I'm not kidding you can't be here! They are always dropping by to see if I know anything."  
  
"Nancy I want to see Daniel. Please I haven't seen him in months."  
  
Nancy bit her lip before opening the door. "Okay for Daniel."   
  
He followed her into the house. He walked in and stood back just watching the madness. "Dad!" Daniel said and made a beeline towards his father. Chris picked him up and hugged him.  
  
"Chris?" Eddy said looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to make sure my son got his birthday present."  
  
"How'd you know it was you?" Daniel asked.  
  
"A little birdy told me. So how's the birthday boy?"  
  
"Good. You back now?"   
  
"I don't know kiddo. I hope so." Chris put his son down. Nancy wouldn't meet his eyes.   
  
"Nancy come here a sec." Perry said he had been looking out the window.   
  
"I knew this would happen today!" Nancy said. "Chris you need to hide. Hide in Tatem's closet or something! Bischoff's car just pulled up and he's the last person you want to see today."  
  
Chris wanted to protest but knew they were right so he went into his stepdaughter's closet. There was a place to hide if they decided to look in the closet.  
  
He could actually hear the conversation quite well.   
  
"Where's my nephew?" Chris closed his eyes a second. Dean was here.   
  
"Stay away from my son you asshole!" Nancy said in a voice that Chris was sure the whole neighborhood could hear.  
  
"Just tell us if you've seen or heard from Chris Nancy. He works for the WWE. His being AWOL will not be tolerated."  
  
"If I knew where he was I still wouldn't tell you. Not after the shit you both pulled. I'm glad he left that group!"  
  
Chris really hoped Daniel wasn't anywhere near that conversation.   
  
But Dean knew the house too well. He didn't think it would be possible.  
  
"Hi." Daniel said. Oh shit. Please don't say anything Daniel. Chris silently pleaded.  
  
"I understand it's your birthday." Eric said in a sickeningly sweet voice.   
  
"Uh huh. And got the best gift of all." Daniel said. Chris couldn't see his face but he was sure there was a smile on it.   
  
"And what was that?" Dean asked.  
  
"My dad."  
  
"Honey your dad wasn't here." Nancy said. Why don't you go watch the clown? We'll have cake and ice cream soon."  
  
"You wouldn't mind if we looked around Nancy would you?" Eric asked.  
  
"I do mind. It's my son's birthday party. Leave."  
  
"We'll only be a second." Dean said. He heard footsteps come into Tatem's room. He squished back as far as he could. Damn the hide and go seek games. If someone didn't stop them, they'd find him.  
  
"Come on that's Tatem's room! She doesn't even like me in there." Nancy said.  
  
"It'll just take a second Nancy." The closet door opened. Chris kept down as far as he could. He could almost feel Dean's hand on his arm. Chris held perfectly still.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" Suddenly Dean's arm disappeared from the closet.   
  
"Just checking things out Ric." Bischoff said. "You know our regular check. Daniel already told us Chris was here."  
  
"Daniel was mistaken now get out of Tatem's room!" Perry said.  
  
"Fine Saturn we will." Dean said casting a final look towards Tatem's closet. "We'll be back though."  
  
The front door slammed. Chris waited ten minutes before getting out of the closet. He was met by a surprise. He hadn't been expecting him to still be there.   
  
Ric didn't say anything right away. Surprise was evident on his face. "Nancy when I said to hide him this wasn't what I meant." 


	5. Cruel Intentions

Notes: This is a chapter that shows just how cruel Hunter is.  
  
Cruel Intentions  
  
Flashback  
  
Chris entered the room he was told the meeting would be held in. He saw Ric and Randy were the only ones in there. He wondered where Helmsley was. He hadn't quite liked the idea of being in a group with HHH but Ric said things would be fine.   
  
The door opened and HHH entered. "There's been a change of plans." He started. "Batiste isn't ready to be a member so I've taken it upon myself to find a new member."  
  
The door opened and someone else came in. "No way!" Chris said loudly.  
  
"Sit down Benoit. I'm in charge of this group and I say he's the fourth member." HHH said. "Have a seat Kevin." Nash did so.  
  
"I'd like to correct that HHH." Someone else said. Chris looked quickly at Ric who looked just as surprised. "You aren't the one in charge. I am."  
  
"What the hell is going on here Hunter?" Ric demanded. "This was not the plan! The fourth member wasn't going to be Nash and it sure as hell wasn't going to be lead by Bischoff."  
  
"Just a change in plans Ric." HHH said.   
  
/flashback   
  
"Hey Ric." Chris said trying to ease the situation. "Wasn't their idea either. Thanks for getting Malenko away from the closet."  
  
"Uh sure." Ric looked confused.   
  
Chris saw Nancy with her hand wrapped in ice. "What happened?"  
  
"Let's just say Dean finally got what was coming to him." This time Chris was slightly confused. "Never mind." Perry said. "I'll go check on the kids. Make sure they aren't driving Tatem up the wall."  
  
"Perry can you check on..." Nancy suddenly stopped. "Check to make sure they aren't around."  
  
"Sure Nancy." He said leaving.  
  
"So now what?" Ric asked as they settled into the living room. "You can't stay here Chris. They'll be back."  
  
"I was thinking of going to Greenwich to see how Shane was doing and apologize. Other then that I really don't know."  
  
"Chris Shane's not in Greenwich." Nancy said slowly.  
  
"Well he's..." She looked at Ric who seemed to understand because he left the room. "Chris he's." She stopped. "He's in the guest room."  
  
Flashback  
  
Chris was stretching in the Horsemen's locker room. He, unlike most of the other Horsemen, liked to stay in the background. The door slammed open. He looked up to see Shane McMahon fall right in front of him.   
  
He jumped up off the floor. A cameraman, HHH, Nash, Test, Hall, and Malenko came into the room. HHH locked the door. That's when he saw the sledgehammer. Oh shit. This can't be good.  
  
He decided to get between HHH and Shane. "Hunter don't. Just let him go. He's your brother in law!"  
  
"Benoit shut up and get the hell out of my way!" Chris refused to move and was pushed out of the way.   
  
He watched helplessly as Dean and Hall held Shane's arms. HHH swung the sledgehammer and connected with his brother-in-law's right leg. Shane cried out. HHH hit him over and over again and Shane was screaming. He didn't know how Shane was keeping conscious.  
  
"Hunter stop!" Vince was yelling from the other side of the door. "You can have anything just stop!"  
  
HHH had an evil look in his eyes. "Kev open the door." HHH said picking up Shane who was now unconscious. When the door was open enough HHH threw Shane at Vince like a rag doll.  
  
/flashback  
  
Chris started walking towards the door. Nancy followed him. She opened the door.   
  
Marissa looked up and only saw Nancy right away. "Oh hi Nancy. It's definitely not one of Shane's better days. Chris?" She asked looking very surprised.  
  
"Hi Marissa." Chris said stepping into the room.   
  
Shane pulled himself into a sitting position with Marissa's help. "Chris." Shane's eyes were cold making Chris take a step backwards. Somehow he wasn't as ready as he thought he'd be.  
  
"I just wanted to see how you were and to say I'm sorry. I tried to stop Hunter I really did. But he was a madman."  
  
"Yeah I figured he was." Shane's voice was icy. But he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Chris. Part of me knows you tried to stop Hunter but the other part of me blames you. But from what I heard you went through your own hell after what they did to me but at least you are walking."  
  
Something seemed to click when he said that but Chris couldn't figure out why. There was something he wasn't remembering. 


	6. New Look

New Look  
  
Chris waited till Ric left before telling Nancy and Perry what he planned. Ric had been adamant about not wanting to know anything. "I know what I'm going to do now."  
  
"Are you going back to Ashley Glen." Nancy asked as she was throwing away the trash from the party.  
  
"No way. But I am going to need a new look. They won't be expecting me to be hiding in plain sight."  
  
"That's crazy. They'll see through any disguise especially Dean. Unless you are moving to Europe or something."  
  
"No here's fine but I'll need hair dye, glasses with clear lenses, change in hairstyle, pierced ear..."  
  
"Pierced ear?" Eddy asked coming into the room. "That'll confuse them if anything does."  
  
"Chris with that look just where are you going?" Nancy asked. Chris didn't say anything. "Chris where?"  
  
Realization seemed to dawn on Perry. "Chris you wouldn't. Please say Jacksonville isn't your destination."  
  
"Chris I can get you to Smackdown just stay away from RAW!" Eddy begged. "You don't want to be anywhere near there."  
  
"Look it's just something I need to do. I can't stay hiding forever. They are eventually going to find me. Can we do this look or not?"  
  
***  
  
Monday night  
  
Eddy and Perry had warned him that they checked the fans before they entered the arena. There had been several Smackdown wrestlers that had tried to come help and had been spotted. Eddy said he had been one of the ones who had tried. He said a silent prayer that the disguise was good enough.  
  
He looked again in the rearview mirror at his hair. It had been spiked and bleached blond. His glasses, with plastic lenses, weren't too bad looking. He still had to get used to the hoop in his ear though. It still amazed him that only 48 hours ago he thought he was 65 and now he looked like he was in his late 20s.  
  
Here goes nothing he thought as he got out of the car and walked to the entrance of Jacksonville Coliseum. His son had insisted that to be a fan you had to bring signs. So he had with him three. One that said: The End is Near. A second that said We Need a Hero, which had been Tatem's idea. And the third said Four Horsemen Used to Stand For Greatness.  
  
It was the moment of truth. He thought as he stood in line to go into the arena. He saw the security guard was the head one. He tried to act normal as the security guard looked at him closely and only confiscated the sign that said Four Horsemen Used to Stand For Greatness. He was told to go in. He was relieved.  
  
He couldn't even look at Austin as he walked by. Some fans jeered him. One threw a piece of paper on the ground right in front of Austin who picked it up. Benoit walked up to the fan and said in a low voice "Have some respect."  
  
"Hey man he's the janitor."  
  
"No he's just someone who was forced out." And he looked at Austin whose eyes seemed to register something. Chris walked away quickly. Austin had said the same thing to him once.  
  
Chris found his seat. He made sure he was on the side that the camera didn't catch and far enough back that he could really blend in. He shivered slightly at the dark feel that being back at RAW brought.   
  
He looked at the signs. He saw some on the other side that said Benoit Scares Bischoff, Welcome back Chris Benoit. Huh? He wondered. They couldn't possibly know he was here.   
  
"What's with all the Benoit signs?" Chris asked the kid next to him.  
  
"You haven't heard? It's all over the Internet that Benoit was at his son's birthday party."  
  
Oh shit! Chris thought. He wondered if he could get out of there. Wait he needed to see what was going on. So he sat back and watched. He didn't pay attention to the dark matches. Nothing really interesting happened during them.  
  
RAW started and there was a surprise right away. Ross was gone. Cyrus had replaced him. Lawler was there but so was Heyman. That was a difference all right. Before he left/escaped the commentating team was Heyman, Lawler, and Ross. He wondered what other surprises there were waiting for him.  
  
The Horsemen's music hit which caused him to cringe. It was a mix of the last Four Horsemen music and Eminem had written a song for it. He never did like the music they used. All of the Horsemen came out. There was a traitor chant directed towards Dean. He was still trying to remember why.  
  
Eric was the first one to talk. "As most of you know Chris Benoit has been seen very recently. And I bet he's watching the show somewhere so this is directed to him. Nancy can say whatever she wants Chris but we know that you were there and Dean was pretty sure you were in the closet. So since you are watching we'll bring out our surprise."   
  
What is going on? Chris wondered. The fans were yelling and booing. First Dean and now Shane Douglas? He and Shane had made amends almost two years ago. Though it did make sense to him.   
  
Shane grabbed the mic from Bischoff. "Nothing personal Chris. You know how much I hate the WWE. Come back because we know you do too."  
  
"He's hiding. Iceman scared him away." Bischoff said with a laugh. "But we'll find you Chris! You can't hide forever."  
  
"Don't know why they want Benoit back so bad." He heard someone say from behind him. "It's not like he actually did anything to help them."  
  
"Well you know how it is. Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer. You know HHH hates Benoit. Chris is better off outside of the group." Someone else said.  
  
He had known that HHH hated him. Hunter hadn't been shy about it. He knew just as everyone else did. He was nothing but a pawn to them. How he had wished he had known that before agreeing to be a member.  
  
He didn't really see why he had been warned to stay away. There wasn't much of a difference of the show. Just Ross being replaced. But that wasn't a problem. He was surprised Bischoff hadn't done it sooner.  
  
Suddenly the lights flicked off. That was new. Someone was pushing him forward. He tried to stop but he was being pushed forward. He didn't know why or by whom but he was heading towards the ring.  
  
The lights came on and he was in the ring. He tried to act nonchalant but he was scared. Had they found out who he was? Had the security guard figured it out? Had Austin ratted him out? All those questions went through his head.  
  
"Lucky winner of be a Horsemen for a night."  
  
Oh no. No no no no! This was his worst nightmare come true. Bischoff didn't realize it, at least he didn't think he did, but he just got his wish.   
  
"What's your name?" Bischoff asked him.  
  
He tried to keep his Canadian accent out of his voice. "Harold Martin."   
  
"And you are from?" Bischoff asked.  
  
"Jacksonville." He could wing a southern accent if need be.  
  
"Okay fine. Now on with the show."  
  
I am so dead if they figure it out. Chris thought as he put on the Horsemen T-shirt. Not the same kind he wore when he was a member it said Horsemen in Training. Cute Bischoff. He wanted to run but knew that would bring unwanted attention upon him.  
  
He half listened as Bischoff rattled on a list of matches for the show. There weren't any new wrestlers to WWE since he left, well except for Douglas. He followed them out of the ring. He put as much distance as possible between himself and Dean and Shane.   
  
"Bischoff we've got a problem!" One of the security guards yelled.  
  
Chris looked up curiously to see Chavo being held back by a few security guards. He could hear him yelling, "I bought a ticket!"  
  
Chris took the opportunity to slip out the door. He went straight to the parking lot. He wasn't quite surprised to see Eddy waiting for him. "Chris what's wrong with you? Why did you go into the ring?" Eddy demanded right away.  
  
"Well they didn't exactly give me much of a choice. I had no idea what was going on."  
  
"Oh yeah you wouldn't have known about the be a Horsemen for a night. Sorry man. Come on let's go."  
  
"Go where?"  
  
"You'll see when we get there. Follow me. There's something you really need to know. Oh and Chris get rid of that T-shirt before we get there."  
  
"Gladly." Chris took off the T-shirt and threw it in the garbage. "What do we do with my car?"  
  
"Chavo will come get it. He has a set of the keys. He'll probably be thrown out of there soon."  
  
"Where are we going?" Chris repeated as they got into Eddy's truck.  
  
"You'll see." 


	7. Meeting the Opposition

Notes: I'm not from Florida and this consisted of me reading a map. So I'm sure there's an easier way of getting there from Jacksonville but tough.  
  
Meeting the Opposition  
  
Eddy drove south until he got to 202 and then went south on 1A1. Chris had been expecting him to go north towards Georgia. The drive was pretty quiet. Eddy pulled into the driveway of a house in Vilano Beach. Chris got out and looked at Eddy. "You'll see." He repeated.  
  
They walked up to the door and Eddy stopped him. "You are going to be surprised by the group assembled but it's everyone that wants to see the group taken down. They won't know who you are but I trust all of them."  
  
He knocked on the door and it opened. Standing there was a female maybe in her mid teens. "Hi Eddy come in! Who's this?"  
  
"Hi Channa. He's a friend. Everyone here?"  
  
"Yep. They are all out back on the patio." She said letting them in. Then she went upstairs.  
  
"That's Devon's niece." Eddy explained.  
  
"Devon? Storm?" Eddy nodded.  
  
"Oh come on!" Chris heard a voice yell. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to know.   
  
"There's a TV on the patio." Eddy quickly supplied. "They must be watching RAW."  
  
"Ah." He followed him out onto the deck.   
  
Eddy had been right when he said he'd be surprised. He saw Debra Austin, Devon Storm, Steve McMichael, Vince, Linda, and Stephanie McMahon, Rey Mysterio JR, Tajiri, AJ Styles, Nunzio, Paul Roma, JJ Dillon, and much to his surprise a person that made him want to go right back out the door. A man he helped put out.  
  
Lance Storm.  
  
"Eddy..."  
  
"It'll be okay." Eddy said and practically pulled him all the way out of the house. They watched the TV. RAW was just about over. The Horsemen were beating Chris Jericho, Rock, and HBK. Anyone that came to help was stopped by Paul Wight who had moved over to RAW not much after Chris had been. Nash was helping. RAW went off the air with a laughing Bischoff as the last image.  
  
"Who's this?" Vince demanded.  
  
"Wait a minute!" AJ said. "That's that guy from RAW. Harold or something. Was there a set up we didn't know about Eddy?"  
  
"One that we didn't want AJ. Did they beat Chavo?"  
  
"Yeah but not for long. Rock and Jericho saved him." Lance informed him. "He called and said he's on his way here."  
  
Chris looked down at Lance's leg, which was no longer in a knee brace he noticed. But there were crutches next to him.   
  
"Guys this is Chris Benoit." Eddy informed them.   
  
There was silence for a few seconds then things went crazy. Lance got up without the aid of crutches and walked over to Chris before anyone could stop him. "Why did you do it Chris? You and Flair are about the only good in that group."  
  
"They didn't give me a choice!"  
  
"Didn't stop you when you tried to help Shane!"  
  
"Yeah and look what that got him! Lance calm down. Ric has explained it before." Stephanie said. "My husband hated anyone who wasn't in the group."  
  
"No kidding Steph! But I thought Chris was different."  
  
"He is different Lance." Eddy answered. "If he wasn't Dean wouldn't have beat the crap out of him."  
  
"Whoa! Dean did what?"  
  
Everyone turned to stare at Chris and things finally quieted down. Chris could hear Eddy muttering under his breath that he was going to kill Perry.  
  
Lance sat back down. Everyone continued to stare at Chris, which made him uncomfortable.  
  
"Can everyone keep it down?" Devon asked. "This is my sister's home. She's been nice enough to let us use it. She doesn't need us yelling. And neither do the neighbors."  
  
"Chris you don't remember Dean attacking you with a chair?" Rey JR asked.  
  
"No. Last conversation I remember having with Dean was after what happened to Shane. I told him I didn't know him anymore. He attacked me with a chair?"  
  
"Yeah. If Flair and Steve hadn't..." Debra trailed off. "Never mind it wasn't that bad." She quickly said.  
  
"How bad was it?" Chris demanded. He knew Debra wanted to say something. Chris turned around to see Eddy shaking his head. "How bad was it Eddy?"  
  
"It could have been worse." Eddy said obviously avoiding the answer. The others were watching them.  
  
"How bad!"   
  
"A couple broken ribs, eye swelled shut, and a bruised knee cap." Eddy said with a sigh. 


	8. Betrayed

Betrayed  
  
Chris entered the arena with Eddy. They had dyed his hair a different color so Bischoff wouldn't think he was Harold. He was just going to hang out in Eddy's locker room. They didn't think it was necessary for him to be on TV. Eddy told him that almost everyone on the Smackdown Roster was a part of the fight against Bischoff so he was pretty safe at Smackdown. But he wasn't free to tell him who he was though. Not that he wanted to.  
  
As they headed to the locker room Stephanie hurried over to them. He had been surprised that she wasn't as mad at him as Lance was. After all he had been there when Hunter shattered Shane's legs. "Chris you need to get out of here! They know who you are and that you'll be here!"  
  
That's all they needed to here. Eddy and Chris started to turn around to leave when a voice stopped them. "I should have known that was you Monday. Not the greatest disguise."  
  
"It was enough to fool you Bischoff." Eddy retorted.  
  
"True but I had a spy in your group. He told me everything." He had a smug look on his face. Chris wondered who it was. He wasn't even sure who would tell Bischoff. Lance certainly wouldn't have. He wondered how well he knew these people.  
  
"How'd you pay McMichael off Eric? Did you promise he could have a match with Steve Austin? How?" Chris was shocked by that. Mongo was his betrayer? And how did Eddy know it was him?  
  
"So you knew who the mole was? Well it didn't help Chris now did it?"  
  
"No but that's because I wasn't sure. I gave McMichael too much credit. Come on Chris. Let's go."  
  
"Wait Guerrero! Benoit is a part of RAW and the Horsemen. He's not going anywhere but back there."  
  
"Over my dead body."  
  
"That can be arranged." Suddenly Eric wasn't alone anymore. Most of the Horsemen materialized out of seemingly nowhere. Chris noticed immediately Ric wasn't with them, but Douglas was which was to Chris' advantage. Somewhat anyway. But then the other members of Eddy's group showed up.  
  
A brawl erupted. Smackdown wasn't on the air but the camera crew was scrambling to film everything as quickly as they could. The Harris Brothers practically carried Chris, who was hitting and kicking trying to get free. They dumped him in a car. Their younger brother Brian was in the drivers seat. The doors quickly locked and the car drove out quickly. Chris' friends could only watch it drive away.  
  
They knew two things. One they failed Chris. And two, Mongo was a dead man 


	9. HOstile Takeover

Chris was growing bored listening to the Harris brothers talking. Brian was driving, Ron in the passenger seat, and Don in the back next to him. He had no idea where they were going and they weren't saying. He wanted to call someone on his cellphone but remembered he didn't have it. He hadn't had one since whenever it was he went to Ashley Glen.  
  
He sighed. His mind wandered back to the night the Horsemen took over RAW and kicked Austin out as GM.  
  
/Flashback/  
  
They were all standing in the back. Helmsley had managed to convince Vince to hire the Harris twins. Vince didn't suspect a thing. Not only were Chris, Ric, Triple H, and Nash members but also there were at least five others. Chris didn't know who they were but Triple H and Bischoff had been bragging about it.  
  
They waited until Austin was standing in the ring trying to calm down an irate Michaels and Rock after some double cross.  
  
The old Horsemen music came through the speakers. The expression on Steve's face was priceless. Linda had fired Bischoff weeks ago after decking Austin. Seemed the rule applied to him also.  
  
They got into the ring. Austin grabbed the mic out of the Rock's hand. "Get the hell out this ring. Bischoff you don't work here!" None of them left the ring. Austin was seething. "Last warning. Get out of here!" Still no one moved. "Security." He yelled. Austin didn't know that was a mistake. The security worked for Bischoff. They had for several weeks. They came out to ringside. "Escort Bischoff out of the building."  
  
They turned as if to do that but instead attacked the unsuspecting Rattlesnake. Rock and Michaels momentarily forgot their own problems and tried to help Austin. But they were greatly outnumbered. The locker room emptied.   
  
Bischoff, who had jumped out of the ring when the melee started, grabbed the microphone that had been tossed out. "It's time to make a choice." Eric yelled trying to be louder then the chaos in the ring. "You either stick with Austin and get burned, or you join the Horsemen who are taking back RAW!" The fans reacted to the word Horsemen.   
  
The wrestlers separated as if to see who would join or who would stay. Chris wasn't sure that there were going to be wrestlers to join them. He had been surprised when Test and Three Minute Warning had joined. But RVD was one of the first people to cross the line much to the fans surprise. Then wrestlers started crossing quickly. All in all the following joined: Chief Morley, Jazz, Maven, La Resistance, Stacy Kiebler, William Regal, Chris Nowinski, and Christian. Made Chris wonder if maybe they had known ahead of time.   
  
Then the fight started again. Someone tossed Chris a chair. He was hitting Spike Dudley with it. Someone grabbed his arm and he swung around and nailed them with the chair. When he looked down, he felt bad. He just nailed Trish Stratus with it.  
  
/flashback/  
  
Chris sighed. He hadn't meant to hit Trish with the chair. It had been an accident. It wasn't the first time he did something he hadn't meant to. And some he did but they came with repercussions. He sighed. Why did things get messed up?  
  
The car pulled into a driveway. He got out of the car. Ron grabbed his arm. "I'm not going to bold." He said trying to pull his arm out of the grip. He let go. He followed them in. RVD was playing Ron Simmons at pool. Bill Alfonzo was sitting there writing something on a note pad. When did Fonzie become a member? He wondered who else was a member.   
  
"Don't just stand there Benoit. Sit. You aren't going anywhere." He turned around to see Dean standing in the doorway. He glared at him before sitting on the couch.   
  
Mongo walked in. He jumped to his feet and punched him square in the face but didn't stop there. It took both Harris twins to pull him off. He was still kicking at air.   
  
"You asshole!" He yelled. "How could you?"  
  
"How could I not? I was promised a piece of Austin."  
  
"SO you sold me out." Chris said.   
  
"Like so many have Benoit." Mongo said.   
  
He was let go and he sat angrily back on the couch. He was getting out of here again. 


	10. Going Home

Going home  
  
Chris rolled over the next morning and stared out the window. This hadn't been how he planned to spend the day. In a house of people who hated him and who he hated back. What Mongo said last night still stuck out in his mind? He was right so many had betrayed him. His wife and one of his best friends lied to him. Dean Malenko beat him with a chair. Then Mongo turned on him. Was there anyone he could trust? He wondered.  
  
He fingered his wedding band thinking of his family. Not just Nancy, Daniel, and Tatem but his other two children Megan and David. He supposed he could have gone to Canada instead of showing up at RAW. But his curiosity made him want to see why everyone didn't want him to go to RAW. He now knew why.   
  
He got up and dressed in the jeans and shirt he had been wearing the day before. And went out into the other room. He had been sharing a room with Malenko and Van Dam both were already up by the time he was.   
  
He walked into the kitchen and found almost all of them eating breakfast. The people who attacked him at Smackdown were also there. He took a cup of coffee and some cereal and leaned against the counter feeling every bit uncomfortable.  
  
Bischoff was on the phone but hung up when he saw Chris standing there. "We're going to your house today Benoit."  
  
"Why are we going to my house?" Chris demanded. Shane's there. There was no way in hell that they could find him.  
  
"Well so you can get clothes and I'm trying a hunch that there is a certain heir apparent there." Chris tried to keep his face neutral. He couldn't let on that Shane was there. But how was he going to warn Nancy? "Shane and Dean will also be coming." Oh yeah that will go over well with Nancy. "Finish eating and we'll go."  
  
Chris took his time eating a fact that didn't seem to be lost on Eric who yanked the bowl out of his hands. "You are done eating let's go."  
  
Chris followed them out the door hoping Ric could call Nancy.   
  
***  
  
"Why are we going in my house?" Chris asked again as they pulled up to the Benoit house. Bischoff, Shane, Dean were in the car with Chris.  
  
"I think there was something else your wife's been hiding all this time." Bischoff said. "And I mean besides you."  
  
Please let Nancy have gotten the phone call! If she didn't Shane won't be able to defend himself. Chris thought worriedly as he got out of the car.  
  
Bischoff, Dean, and Shane were already at the door waiting when he got out of the car. The door opened and Nancy did not look happy. "What?" She asked. Chris didn't think she saw him yet.  
  
"Coming to check your house."  
  
"You've got Chris back so what do you want?" She asked again.   
  
"I think you are hiding someone else Nancy. Perhaps a cripple? And since Chris is with us we can come in."  
  
"Chris is with you? Where?" Nancy asked looking around. Dean pulled Chris to the front of the group. She sighed. "All right come in." She opened the door.  
  
She led them through the house. When they got to the guestroom Chris held his breath not knowing what they'd find. Again he prayed that Nancy got the phone call. It wasn't like Bischoff knew for sure that Shane and Marissa were there.  
  
Eric opened the door and stepped inside. Chris followed them. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it empty of Shane and Marissa's things. No one could tell there had been two guests in there.  
  
Bischoff looked pissed. "I know they were here Nancy. We'll be back." He stormed out of the house. Dean and Shane followed him.   
  
Chris stayed. He hugged his wife. "I'm sorry." He said.  
  
"Don't be. It's not your fault." She hugged him tight. "Be careful okay?"  
  
"I will." He was about to kiss her when Eric came back in and practically dragged him out the door. He could barely call out bye before he was shoved into the car.  
  
"Tell me where Shane is." Eric said as he started the car.  
  
"I don't know where he is. And even if I did I wouldn't tell you. He's crippled leave him alone."  
  
"Like you he's a loose thread that needs to be found and neutralized. And like you he will be found."   
  
Chris looked over at Dean who was sitting next to him. A lot of people couldn't read his facial expressions but Chris almost always could and he could read the fear on his face. He wondered why. 


End file.
